DRINKING WATER
Your Chlorine Sensor Is Lying to You — Here's 65 Days Of Proof
The operators at Compton Durville Water Treatment Works thought their chlorine dosing was under control. Their Siemens Depolox membrane sensor showed residuals right at setpoint. The PID loop was doing its job. On paper, everything looked fine. It wasn't.
DRINKING WATER CASE STUDIES AND WHITE PAPERS
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R450™ System Grabs More Info From The Inflow
The City of Clermont, Florida is located in Lake County 22 miles west of Orlando; and, like its neighbor, has an economy driven largely by tourism.
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Why Desalination Needs Ozone — Especially In Texas
Discover how pretreatment with ozone is key to securing desalination efficiency. It protects sensitive Reverse Osmosis membranes, cuts energy demand, and is essential for complex coastal water sources.
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Integrated Treatment System For Drinking Water
Amiad designed and supplied an integrated water filtration system for Dominica Island which combines three main stages of filtration and treatment, solving a problem: lack of quality drinking water.
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In The Field With EPA: Seagrass Sampling To Expand A Nutrient Pollution Indicator
Native seagrasses are a foundation of healthy marine ecosystems and provide important ecosystem services. Threats to water quality, like excess nutrients, create unfavorable conditions for seagrass. To address this problem, EPA is working with partners in Puerto Rico on a new project to evaluate the potential applicability of a nutrient pollution indicator (NPI) for tropical seagrasses.
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Custom Water Panel Answers Multiple Water Questions
A mid-size water system in the southeast was looking to pull together multiple measurements in a single panel. After reviewing off-the-shelf solutions, they realized there was nothing that met their requirements.
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Centuries Old Infrastructure Gains Control With The Insta Valve 250
Hydra-Stop’s solution allowed the city to gain control of their infrastructure where no valves were present.
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Made By AMERICAN: Strong-As-Steel Support For New Topsail Island Bridge
The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) is building a new, high-rise bridge to span the Intracoastal Waterway in Surf City, replacing a 1950s era swing-span bridge that has come to the end of its efficient service life in Pender County. Buried under the waters of the new Topsail Island Bridge is AMERICAN SpiralWeld Pipe. While AMERICAN’s spiral-welded steel pipe is most often used in water delivery, it also excels as drilled shaft casing pipe used in the formation of cast-in-place concrete piles.
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Turning Water Utility Data Into Action: The Power Of Modern Meter Data Management
Smart meters, sensors, and operational systems generate a constant stream of information about water flow, pressure, consumption, and system performance. But data alone doesn't solve problems—it's the ability to understand and act on this information that drives real operational improvements.
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Reducing Taste And Odor Issues With Improved Geosmin And MIB Control
Drinking water taste and odor issues — which have increased in both frequency and intensity in recent years — are putting municipalities in a tough spot. Beyond the simple aesthetic ramifications, failing to address these issues invariably creates consumer uncertainty about the quality and safety of the water. The good news is that dosing powdered activated carbon into the water stream provides an efficient and cost-effective solution to looming taste and odor problems.
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Fractional Electrodeionization (FEDI) Technology For RO Permeate Polishing And Demineralization
Sabine Pass, a large LNG refinery in the U.S., required a membrane desalination solution to cater to its extensive process water needs in order to produce a large amount of liquefied natural gas for export.
DRINKING WATER APPLICATION NOTES
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Flow Monitoring At Sea Water Reverse Osmosis Plant Improves Water Distribution1/6/2025
Read about a desalination plant that was in need of a practical verification methodology for permanent and/or temporary (portable) solutions on large pipes.
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The Process Of Deionizing Water10/29/2021
Years ago, high purity water was used only in limited applications. Today, deionized (Dl) water has become an essential ingredient in hundreds of applications including: medical, laboratory, pharmaceutical, cosmetics, electronics manufacturing, food processing, plating, countless industrial processes, and even the final rinse at the local car wash.
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Immediate pH Correction For Fluctuating Flow2/19/2014
In a number of water, wastewater and industrial process applications, pH is one of the most critical and highly sensitive analytical measurements. Examples of critical pH applications include: Reverse Osmosis (RO) systems in which a controlled feed of caustic solution is typically added to the feed stream in order to convert a portion of dissolved carbon dioxide into bicarbonate precipitate allowing for removal by the RO membrane. By Rafik H. Bishara, Steve Jacobs, and Dan Bell
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FLEX-TEND® Flexible Expansion Joints, Features And Specifications12/3/2020
FLEX-TEND® flexible expansion joints are designed to protect structures and pipelines from differential movement whether this movement is earthquake induced or the gradual motion of soil subsidence. This bulletin offers a concise listing and discussion of the important features and materials of the double and single ball assemblies.
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Activated Carbon And Adsorption Of Trichloroethylene (TCE) And Tetrachloroethylene (PCE)12/30/2013
Trichloroethylene (TCE) and Tetrachloroethylene (PCE) are two of the most common solvents that contaminate groundwater supplies in the United States. Both solvents see frequent use in the extraction of fat, in the textile industry, in the production of various pharmaceutical and chemical products. TCE is also used as a degreaser from fabricated metal parts, and PCE serves as a component of aerosol dry-cleaning solvents.
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Dissolved Oxygen Measurement11/11/2013
One of the most important measurements in the determination of the health of a body of water is its dissolved oxygen content. The quantity of dissolved oxygen in water is normally expressed in parts per million (ppm) by weight and is due to the solubility of oxygen from the atmosphere around us.
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Advances In Paper-Based Devices For Water Quality Analysis2/22/2017
Water quality test strips have been around for decades. They are usually constructed from a porous media, including different types of paper, and undergo a color change when dipped into water containing the analyte of interest. These test strips have seen application in swimming pools, aquariums, hot tubs, remediation sites, and other commercial/environmental areas.
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The Active Control Program For Advanced UV Oxidation12/1/2025
This application note will explore how active control programs lower operational costs of compliant contaminant removal.
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Real-Time Conductivity Monitoring Estimates Chloride Levels In Minnesota Watershed By Using The Aqua TROLL 20011/18/2011Monitoring deicing chemical levels can help researchers, city governments, and regulatory agencies understand runoff impacts on surface water, groundwater, and surrounding environments.
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Background And Summary Of Tests For The 2000PV Restraint4/13/2021
The 2000PV is a restraint for PVC pipe and the standardized mechanical joint. This product is the result of years of testing and evaluation and its performance has been proven by thousands of hours of proof tests, as well as third-party evaluations. This report describes the 2000PV through the 12" size.
LATEST INSIGHTS ON DRINKING WATER
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Currently, water infrastructure is outdated and fragile, prone to breakages and leaks. Reactive approaches to water infrastructure are only implemented after an incident and are more expensive than simple maintenance fixes. Geotechnical Internet of Things (IoT) devices enable water and wastewater industry professionals to identify and address issues before they escalate into catastrophic events.
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A new study linking certain groundwater sources to higher Parkinson’s risk underscores a broader question for the water sector: how environmental exposures in drinking water may influence long-term health.
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The growing demand for water across a variety of sectors combined with the increasingly understood complexity of emerging contaminants is creating a dynamic marketplace for filtration media. The goal of selecting the right filtration media is not to meet minimum standards but to achieve the right balance of performance, durability, and operational simplicity to ensure long-term compliance and cost-effective operation.
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Emerging state water reuse regulations are driving adoption of ozone and advanced oxidation, requiring flexible, high-performance systems to meet pathogen, trace organic, and DBP control objectives.
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EPA’s proposed perchlorate regulation challenges utilities to integrate advanced oxidation and separation technologies, enabling reliable removal, regulatory compliance, and flexible treatment for emerging contaminants.
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Ozone system performance hinges on reactor design, not generator size. Efficient mass transfer, hydraulic integrity, and contact time ensure consistent oxidation, reduced energy use, and reliable treatment results.
ABOUT DRINKING WATER
In most developed countries, drinking water is regulated to ensure that it meets drinking water quality standards. In the U.S., the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administers these standards under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA).
Drinking water considerations can be divided into three core areas of concern:
- Source water for a community’s drinking water supply
- Drinking water treatment of source water
- Distribution of treated drinking water to consumers
Drinking Water Sources
Source water access is imperative to human survival. Sources may include groundwater from aquifers, surface water from rivers and streams and seawater through a desalination process. Direct or indirect water reuse is also growing in popularity in communities with limited access to sources of traditional surface or groundwater.
Source water scarcity is a growing concern as populations grow and move to warmer, less aqueous climates; climatic changes take place and industrial and agricultural processes compete with the public’s need for water. The scarcity of water supply and water conservation are major focuses of the American Water Works Association.
Drinking Water Treatment
Drinking Water Treatment involves the removal of pathogens and other contaminants from source water in order to make it safe for humans to consume. Treatment of public drinking water is mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the U.S. Common examples of contaminants that need to be treated and removed from water before it is considered potable are microorganisms, disinfectants, disinfection byproducts, inorganic chemicals, organic chemicals and radionuclides.
There are a variety of technologies and processes that can be used for contaminant removal and the removal of pathogens to decontaminate or treat water in a drinking water treatment plant before the clean water is pumped into the water distribution system for consumption.
The first stage in treating drinking water is often called pretreatment and involves screens to remove large debris and objects from the water supply. Aeration can also be used in the pretreatment phase. By mixing air and water, unwanted gases and minerals are removed and the water improves in color, taste and odor.
The second stage in the drinking water treatment process involves coagulation and flocculation. A coagulating agent is added to the water which causes suspended particles to stick together into clumps of material called floc. In sedimentation basins, the heavier floc separates from the water supply and sinks to form sludge, allowing the less turbid water to continue through the process.
During the filtration stage, smaller particles not removed by flocculation are removed from the treated water by running the water through a series of filters. Filter media can include sand, granulated carbon or manufactured membranes. Filtration using reverse osmosis membranes is a critical component of removing salt particles where desalination is being used to treat brackish water or seawater into drinking water.
Following filtration, the water is disinfected to kill or disable any microbes or viruses that could make the consumer sick. The most traditional disinfection method for treating drinking water uses chlorine or chloramines. However, new drinking water disinfection methods are constantly coming to market. Two disinfection methods that have been gaining traction use ozone and ultra-violet (UV) light to disinfect the water supply.
Drinking Water Distribution
Drinking water distribution involves the management of flow of the treated water to the consumer. By some estimates, up to 30% of treated water fails to reach the consumer. This water, often called non-revenue water, escapes from the distribution system through leaks in pipelines and joints, and in extreme cases through water main breaks.
A public water authority manages drinking water distribution through a network of pipes, pumps and valves and monitors that flow using flow, level and pressure measurement sensors and equipment.
Water meters and metering systems such as automatic meter reading (AMR) and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) allows a water utility to assess a consumer’s water use and charge them for the correct amount of water they have consumed.